Gas to Liquid
Commencement of Operations Started 28/12/2006
The strategy of GTL Resources plc is to produce liquids such as methanol and ethanol from stranded gas, corn and other feedstocks with quality counterparties. GTL manages all aspects of a project: finance, feedstock supply, production and marketing.

In line with its strategy of seeking to develop and exploit markets for alternative fuels, GTL has, since the beginning of 2001, concentrated primarily upon developing methanol projects, principally in Australia, and, more recently, ethanol project work. The Board has recognised the strategic benefits of acquiring a cash generative asset on a shorter time scale than the typical methanol construction time of three years. In furtherance of this strategy, on 6 September 2005 GTL Resources acquired a controlling interest in Illinois River Energy (IRE) to build an ethanol plant at Rochelle, Illinois, through its wholly owned subsidiary, GTL USA, which has been established for the purpose of investing in ethanol projects in the USA. GTL USA has invested in IRE by way of a subscription for units of IRE pursuant to the Unit Purchase Agreement.

This project has the advantage that the Plant is expected to produce revenues on a shorter time scale and at a significantly lower capital cost than the methanol plant in Australia.

The Company intends to further expand within the ethanol industry in the United States or other suitable markets by selective acquisition of low cost production facilities. The Company sees itself as a potential consolidator of ethanol plants in a particularly fragmented market.

FT Tip
GTL Resources, an Aim-listed company. It raised money to build an ethanol plant in the US. Raw materials costs have risen but the price of ethanol has gone through the roof. The earnings potential should be spectacular.

New Plant

Construction started at Rochelle, Illinois site in September and production from the 50 million gallon per annum ethanol plant is expected to commence in the fourth quarter of 2006. Following unusually mild weather in Illinois the project has progressed well and is on schedule and on budget. Whilst the Companys main efforts centre on the successful delivery of the US ethanol project at Rochelle, the potential expansion of that site to 100 million gallons is being investigated. In addition and consistent
with GTLs stated strategy for the expansion of its interests in the ethanol industry, other ethanol opportunities have also been identified and will be analysed. Pictures Of The Site Under Construction March 27, 2006 http://www.illinoisriverenergy.com/html/construction.html


Arden
http://gtlresources.com/documents/ArdenAnalystResearchNote.pdf
http://www.gtlresources.com/documents/ArdenAnalystResearchNote.pdf
BBC News Item On Ethanol
http://news.bbc.co.uk/nolavconsole/ukfs_news/hi/newsid_4940000/newsid_4948400/bb_wm_4948456.stm

Ethanol Priceshttp://ethanolmarket.aghost.net/
Ethanol as a Transportation Fuel
http://energy.ca.gov/afvs/vehicle_fact_sheets/ethanol.html

Annual report for 2006
http://www.gtlresources.com/documents/GTLAnnualReport2006_001.pdf
Pics from Ethanol Producer Magazine of GTL's plant.
http://ethanolproducer.com/plant-images.jsp?plant_id=302&image_id=59
Commencement of Operations Started 28/12/2006
http://www.gtlresources.com/
Economics of Ethanol
http://www.ces.purdue.edu/extmedia/ID/ID-339.pdf
2 July 2007 GTL Resources FY pretax loss narrows, plans 13 mln stg placing to fund expansion
http://moneyam.uk-wire.com/cgi-bin/articles/200707020705014067Z.html
GTL Web Site
http://www.gtlresources.com/

ghjones2
Top up or bottom draw, I have no worries on this stock or my SER (down 48%) both of these will come good IMO patience is needed, at these prices it's a buying opportunity.

The plant is running revenue is coming in and so is the Profit.

ghjones2
Same here. I got in a couple of maonths ago at 2.38 and look where it is now !

Nothing else I can do 'cept wait and hope for the turn round,

Morning all.

I'd like to shout "Will everyone please stop selling this stock!" but given that volume so far is only about 30K it seems pointless.

Surely today's news that the storms disrupted the Russian oil pipeline ought to halt crude's slide.

Corn stocks however ought to recover and the price go down as more farmers are persuaded to plant. That's the mantra I'm repeating to myself, anyway.

And if corn prices keep going up, well I'm sure I've got a couple of tins of sweetcorn in the kitchen that I could sell to offset any losses on GTL!

I bought most of my GTL at 245p so am also hoping for that turnaround.

i got in at 2.45, 2.36, 2.25, 195 and 198. lol

Look at this - just released by AFX, posted on the Dark Side's homepage: (clearly I should have been a farmer, as I've read their minds :o) )

I'm a touch bothered about their plans not to rotate their crops, but I'm sure common sense will eventually prevail.

Farmers planting more corn this year


TOLEDO, Ohio (AFX) - Growing cotton is a family tradition on Webb
Bozeman's farm in central Mississippi. But not this year.
Inspired by soaring demand for corn to feed the growing ethanol industry,
Bozeman is joining a large number of farmers across the country who will plant
corn instead of soybeans, wheat and cotton.
Some in the Midwest are ending their longtime practice of rotating plantings
of soybeans one year and corn the next, opting to grow corn in consecutive
years. Livestock farmers are turning pastures into cornfields.
"We have farmers half-joking about planting corn in their front yards," said
Matt Roberts, an agricultural economist at Ohio State University. "A lot of
farmers see this as an opportunity to have a very good year."
Prices for corn are up to $3.40 a bushel and projected to approach $4,
reaching highs not seen in the last decade. At least 6 million to 8 million more
acres of corn will be needed to supply ethanol plants, analysts say.
Ethanol production is expected to double as new plants are being built to
turn corn into the gasoline additive, from around 5 billion gallons now to 11
billion gallons, according to industry estimates.
Private investments in ethanol plants have soared in the last year as
government leaders have called for more production of renewable fuels.
That made the decision to go with corn easy, said Bozeman, who will plant
about 3,500 acres on his farm near Flora where his father and grandfather have
grown cotton for years.
"Mississippi is not known for its grain production; it's a cotton state," he
said. "But if tradition isn't profitable, you've got to change it."
Farmers in the Midwest may be able to make $50 more per acre by going with
corn instead soybeans, Roberts said. "That's a tremendous difference," he said.
"We have a lot of operators who are going to remove soybeans from their
rotation."
Farmers considering planting continuous years of corn could face pest
problems and increased costs for fertilizer and seed, said Bruce Erickson, a
Purdue University agricultural economist.
And those fields tend to produce less each year. That's why most farmers
rotate their crops to maintain nutrients in the soil and stop insects and weeds.
"Most scientific research shows a 10 percent drop in yield when you plant
corn on corn," Erickson said.
In Louisiana, the number of acres devoted to corn likely will double and
could triple, said David Bollich, a grain marketing specialist with the
Louisiana Farm Bureau.
"All you see is more and more ethanol production," he said. "Everybody wants
to get into corn this year, some who have never planted it before."
Corn prices are so high, though, that it will cost chicken and pork
producers more to feed their animals, and that could end up increasing prices at
grocery stores.
Jim Harper, who grows cotton, rice and sugar cane near Alexandria, La., said
he should make $150 more per acre by growing corn rather than cotton if he has a
good crop.
That has him thinking about not planning any cotton for the first time in 30
years. "It's just a better income opportunity," he said.
But he wonders what will happen to cotton gins and their workers if farmers
pick corn over cotton. "If you don't have a supply, the gins will close," he
said.
Business is booming for the makers of corn planters and storage bins.
Farmers have a shorter window to plant corn than other crops so the rush to get
it in the ground will be greater this year. And because corn produces more
bushels per acre than soybeans, some farmers are anticipating a shortage of
storage space.

By the way, has anyone had a chance to crunch the numbers rgarding the relationship between ethanol prices, fuel prices and GTL's likely profits? I know that GTL released some estimates early on of where they stood, plus RVA might provide some clues.

I'd look into it myself, but am currently trying to plan an international house move in between checking my share prices and can't get my head around the analysis.

However, if anyone's already had a go and is confident of their calculations then I'd be interested to hear from you.

soul
No numbers we won't know till we get an update but 16m looks small for the future of GTL IMO look at the sp of QXL


QXL Profits for year are set to be minimum 16million SP 840P M/Cap 270m

GTL Profits for the year ????????????????????????????SP 185p M/Cap 40m?????

This is going to go up and fast.

Driver lets no get silly and compare those 2 companies who are both compleltely different. People know what to expect from GTL - an ethanol plant. With QXL they can expect consecutive earnings growth over many years and perhaps an EBay takeover.

Driver also, with regard to one of your earlier posts, you said GTL was already earning revenue etc when it isnt.
the plant has to pass its tests etc and the ethanol before it can start selling - news of this I believe is expected this month.

Potts
Cheers for pulling me up but don't you think ebay just might want to sell ethanol it can be posted, well in the corn form at least.

A pair of vegetables together !

I hope so Driver

Just invested further at 189. My portfolio is now heavily weighted in GTL.

making a slight recovery now.

Most of the selling is by small holders at the moment who imo are just re-acting to short term news eg oil price and corn price, I brought in at 2.45 and have no concerns about this stock.

GTL will rise in medium term, as will oil.

What will be the price of ethanol if Crude is $100

Rogers Says Oil Will Rise to $100 After `Correction' (Update6)

http://www.bloomberg.co.uk/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=azQIiqfEPt8g&refer=home

Made up some ground sicne the morning - I think when GTL update the market on the plant reaching its nameplate capacity and then the first details of the 1st months contracts and trading etc they will identify how much they are paying for their corn.
Now we've just got to bank on Bush making a pro ethanol speech

New thread posted lets try to stick to this one otherwise to fragmented.

laurie
Fragmented wouldn't here of it.